In August, the ASTS Council had a productive strategic planning session in New York to look at our mission, vision, and goals for the next 3 to 5 years. Before the Council finalizes the strategic plan, I would like your feedback on key issues we have identified through our deliberations. I realize that we are all busy and therefore we have designed this as a brief five question survey with the ability to provide comments as desired.

Thank you in advance for your time and insights.

Sincerely,
Alan N. Langnas, D.O.
President

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* 1. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will focus on quality and registry reporting for physician payment and include increasing penalties for non-participation. ASTS is exploring the creation of a voluntary, surgeon-specific reporting system. Such a system would require a subscription fee for each participating transplant center and onsite data entry personnel. To the extent possible, any data currently captured for OPTN would be automatically fed into such a system. In your opinion, how likely is your transplant center to participate in such a program?

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* 2. ASTS is examining its approach to the grants portfolio. At present, grants are awarded based on career level (student, resident, fellow, junior faculty, mid-level). Given the current academic environment and various career pathways, ASTS is considering an approach that could include non-traditional grants. Please indicate the order in which you would rank the following types of grants (1 = highest priority, 5 = lowest priority) for ASTS funding. Please note - the answers will re-order as you complete each ranking 1 - 5.

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* 3. As part of the Fellowship Training Strategic Plan, ASTS is exploring the development of inservice and certifying exams. This would include the creation of an Exam Development Group to define topic areas and write the exam questions as well as a Transplant Advisory Board to oversee the exam. Please indicate your support for such an initiative.

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* 4. Each year, there are approximately 70 training positions in ASTS accredited fellowships, with an average of 22 U.S. trained and 68 international (IMG) applicants. Approximately 53% of applicants match, including 95%-100% of the U.S. graduates and 40% of the IMGs. You can visit ASTS.org to see a detailed look at previous match results.

When considering the current landscape and future workforce needs, which of the following represents your opinion on current training numbers:

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* 5. Advanced Transplant Providers (ATPs) are a part of every hospital staff and an important part of the transplant team. As ASTS looks to redefine the membership experience for these Associate Members, we plan to propose bylaws amendments that would enhance their membership experience by allowing greater participation on committees and workgroups, in educational events, and in election activities. Please indicate your support of expanded membership opportunities for Associate Members.

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* 6. Please use the space below to provide any other information that will help the ASTS Council as it finalizes the strategic plan.

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